What to know about holiday travel in NYC this year

Millions of New Yorkers are preparing for what is expected to be a record-breaking year-end holiday travel period, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The agency expects 13.8 million travelers to pass through its airports and vehicle crossings between Saturday, Dec. 21 and Thursday, Jan. 2, potentially setting a new travel record.

Of the total, about 5.2 million passengers are expected to travel through John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and New York Stewart International airports. The busiest air travel days are expected to be Sunday, Dec. 22 and Monday, Dec. 23, with additional spikes on Friday, Dec. 27 and Thursday, Jan. 2.

Meanwhile, around 8.6 million vehicles are expected to use the agency’s bridges and tunnels, matching last year’s volumes.

To ease congestion, the Port Authority will suspend all non-emergency construction work at its vehicular crossings from 5 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 23 to 5 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2.

However, work on the $19 billion JFK Airport redevelopment will continue. Travelers are advised to allow extra time “for delays or reroutes due to detours or closures of parts of the airport roadway network.”

Passengers on domestic flights should arrive at least two hours before departure, while international travelers should plan to arrive at least three hours early, the agency said. As with the Thanksgiving travel period, the agency encourages the use of mass transit.

“To avoid construction-related congestion at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s terminal frontages, motorists are encouraged to use the free drop-off and pickup lot at the on-airport AirTrain JFK’s Lefferts Boulevard station. There, passengers can easily connect to the free AirTrain for an eight-minute ride to airport terminals,” the Port Authority said.

Travelers are advised to check construction.jfkairport.com for details about construction-related travel impacts.

The MTA is also making the following adjustments to accommodate holiday travelers and event attendees across New York City, it said:

• Christmas Eve: Subways will operate on a regular weekday schedule. All buses in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan and some buses in Queens will operate on a reduced weekday schedule, while other buses in Queens will operate on a regular weekday schedule. Buses on Staten Island, meanwhile, will operate on a weekday schedule.
• Christmas Day: Subways and buses will run on a Sunday schedule.
• New Year’s Eve: Subways will follow a regular weekday schedule, with increased service on a number of lines, including the 42nd Street Shuttle, into the early morning hours. The A train will run express until 2:45 a.m. Some bus routes in and around Midtown will be detoured due to road closures for New Year’s Eve celebrations. As on Christmas Eve, buses in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan and some buses in Queens will operate on a reduced weekday schedule, while other buses in Queens will operate on a regular weekday schedule. Buses on Staten Island will run on a weekday “school closed” schedule.
• New Year’s Day: Subways and buses will operate on a Sunday schedule.

The Long Island Rail Road will add 11 extra trains on Tuesday, Dec. 31 on the Babylon, Montauk, Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson and Port Washington branches to Grand Central Madison and Penn Station starting in the early evening. It will also add 12 early trains on Wednesday, Jan. 1 for riders returning to Long Island.

Extra service will also be available for Billy Joel’s New Year’s Eve concert at UBS Arena.

Metro-North Railroad will run on a Friday schedule on its three East of Hudson lines the week of Christmas starting Monday, Dec. 23, and will provide extra midday and mid-afternoon service.

It will operate hourly service with regular weekend service on the Wassaic, Danbury and Waterbury branches on Christmas Day.

During the week of New Year’s Day starting Monday, Dec. 30, all East of Hudson lines will operate on a regular weekday schedule. On New Year’s Eve through New Year’s morning, Metro-North will run enhanced late-evening and post-midnight service.

On New Year’s Day, there will be hourly service, with regular weekend schedules on the Wassaic, Danbury and Waterbury lines and extra trains on the New Haven line.

Access-A-Ride will operate 24/7 throughout the holiday period, but riders should plan for delays and alternate pickup or drop-off locations near Times Square on New Year’s Eve, the MTA said.

The MTA is encouraging travelers to use the MTA app, the TrainTime app or mta.info for real-time service updates.

Nationwide, AAA estimates 119.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more between Saturday, Dec. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 1, marking a slight increase from the previous record set in 2019. Of those travelers, around 107 million are expected to drive, 7.85 million are expected to fly and 4.47 million are expected to use other modes of transportation, such as buses, trains and cruises.

Citing data from INRIX, AAA suggests the best times to travel by car nationwide before Christmas will be:

• Before 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 20
• Before 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21
• Before 12 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22
• Before 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 23

Minimal traffic is expected on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Prior to New Year’s Eve, AAA suggested the best times to travel by car will be:

• Before 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26
• Before 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 27
• Before 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, and Sunday, Dec. 29
• Before 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 30

Minimal traffic is expected on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

AAA did note that drivers in New York City, Boston, Seattle and Washington, D.C. “could see double the typical delays” on the weekends before Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“Nationwide, travel times could be up to 30% longer,” AAA said.